Just to be clear. The indoctrination theory did not start in 2021. It was made almost instantly after ME3 came out and before "the extended cut" DLC and than made popular by many, many fans desperately trying to understand WTF the original ending was about. I know cause I was one of them. :)
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Oh my bad did I say that in the video? Ya I’ve been watching about it for like a decade now haha
@jakespacepiratee3740
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming Bioware did officially say that the Indoctrination Theory is not correct, however.
@njux1871
2 жыл бұрын
@@jakespacepiratee3740 I don't care what BioWare says, they also made Andromeda.
@Arbaaltheundefeated
2 жыл бұрын
@@njux1871 It's not like that's a question of competence, or credibility, it is literally something they can just decide, they have the authority to determine what the story is. Feel free not to care of course, but that just means you're choosing to be wrong about the story.
@jakespacepiratee3740
2 жыл бұрын
@@njux1871 they also made the first 3 Mass Effects. Andromeda was made by the C Team Studio.
@aerynstormcrow
2 жыл бұрын
The synthesis ending was what Saren wanted and I didn't spend 14 million hours hunting him down and fighting him for his smarmy arse to be right. Damnit.
@ChadVulpes
2 жыл бұрын
Damn right!
@MediumChungus223
2 жыл бұрын
Saren did not want synthesis, he wanted submission and slavery. "If we make ourselves useful to them, give them a reason to keep us around, they may not us live." Saren turned to taking synthetic implants only once he was already indoctrinated and being outplayed by Shepard.
@MetalMilitia83
2 жыл бұрын
Too me, the entire series is a giant message saying “DESTROY THEM, THEY ARE PURE EVIL” anyone in the series who wants anything but destruction is indoctrinated. Synthesis and control. Saren wanted synthesis, illusive man wanted control. It’s a series IMO about giving up power and sacrificing your self for the galaxy. Destroy will kill the geth and edi, but will save possible trillions, I think any other ending will still end with the reapers taking control. I doubt Shepard can control without indoctrination, Shepard would become the new being wanting to harvest
@cjvaye99
2 жыл бұрын
Saren unlike the illusive man wasnt actually evil he really did want to save organic life and legitimately thought it was the only way. you kinda feel bad for him he got brainwashed. TIM however is just an evil b*stard who wants to control them to give 'humanity' *cough* (actually himself and Cerberus domination) *cough*
@MetalMilitia83
2 жыл бұрын
@@cjvaye99 saren was bad. He kills innocent people, attempts to help sovereign and is 100% tricked. He is indoctrinated and there fire his intentions are the same as the reapers, he will do as they command him
@KeytarArgonian
Жыл бұрын
*On the Trapped Keeper* as noted, there are 21 keepers in Mass effect 1, but you are tasked to find 20. This is because during Tali’s rescue from Sarens Assassins the keeper in the alleyway could be killed/grenaded during the firefight and would glitch through the floor and get stuck below the map. Instead of just fixing this bug it was easier for the devs to just add a 21st keeper to make sure the quest wouldn’t brick. The footage in the shadow broker dlc is an Easter egg showing that missing keepers fate.
@highdefinition450
11 ай бұрын
Oh that's interesting lol I was wondering what he was doing in that hole lmao
@BlindIdiotGaming
3 ай бұрын
very interesting!
@njan5107
2 жыл бұрын
37:08 “Destroying the reapers accomplishes nothing,…” Listen to yourself. You’re indoctrinated!
@Poopenheiner
2 жыл бұрын
Underrated comment
@henryviiifake8244
2 жыл бұрын
👏👏👏
@madkabal
2 жыл бұрын
This guy strikes me as a "real communism has never been tried" type.
@ravenlunatic8
2 жыл бұрын
Exactly! It is crazy to me to hear most of this. It made no sense. If BioWare goes the direction this video talks about, I am done with ME. I almost quit with ME3's ending, but I decided to give a second chance, but if they would go this far, I am DONE.
@cjcarus921
2 жыл бұрын
The only good Reaper is a dead Reaper!
@Penfold101
2 жыл бұрын
Reaper: "We have successfully indoctrinated Shephard - he is at our disposal to do anything we desire in the galaxy." Catalyst: "Make him bang every other lifeform." Reaper: Catalyst: "EVERYONE."
@CesarinPillinGaming
Жыл бұрын
Reaper appears next to catalyst smoking a giant cigar. Reaper: "Not bad... " Catalyst: "What?" Reaper: "What?"
@Penfold101
Жыл бұрын
@@CesarinPillinGaming “Report to the ship at once. We’ll bang ok?”
@ingamingpc1634
Жыл бұрын
@@CesarinPillinGaming Fair enough I could totally Imagine The Catalyst doing that and then the reaper acknowledging that it's not a bad idea after a couple minutes of thinking
@wolfeusmc2011
Жыл бұрын
Liara is Blue Garrus is Grey I'm Commander Shepard we'll bang ok?
@ambientsoundsandmusic6166
4 ай бұрын
"I'm Commander Shephard and this is my favorite partner." "I'm Commander Shephard and this is my favorite partner." "I'm Commander Shephard and this is my favorite partner." "I'm Commander Shephard and this is my favorite partner." 🤣🤣🤣
@zalabit927
2 жыл бұрын
Council: Welcome to our society, we hope you get along. Here, have some cool advanced high tech👍🏻 Raloi: Oh wow, thanks! Finally, we can be part of something bigg- *Reapers invade* Raloi: Ooga booga, we didn't see shiet. *Throws tech out the airlock*
@plankton_
2 жыл бұрын
ah as a wise man once said, "space it out the airlock."
@hcook1023
Жыл бұрын
Lol not just that but the actually started to destroy their own technology
@Aemond2024
Жыл бұрын
We no nuffin bout dis sir
@EndOfSmallSanctuary97
Жыл бұрын
@@Aemond2024 lmfao
@ambientsoundsandmusic6166
4 ай бұрын
"break out the fucking spears and rocks!" "What? Why????" *sees Reaper body every living thing in its path* "Fire bad!" *Cave bird noises*
@efxnews4776
2 жыл бұрын
Mass Effect universe is pretty dark, it just doesn't look like that by our eyes because we take the shoes of a literal space messiah. Take the very first mission on Eden Prime, if instead you were in the shoes of a regular civilian and not the shoes of a badass commando, it's basically a horror story. Imagine seen you friends and family turning into husks, impaled by robots that were never have been seen by most humans. It's literally Dead Space witb robots and a madman Turian, wich by the way, would make common people piss on their pants by just the sight of one especially after all that happened in the first contact war. And theres plenty more examples of thisvin Mass Effect, the mission in Noveria by the eyes of scientists and workers theres is literally the plot of Alien. Again, Mass Effect isn't just a darker galaxy, because of Shepard and Normandy crew
@xiosagikana28
2 жыл бұрын
Or if you would've been one of those asaris in the monastery. In fact, the whole thing about turn into reapers every living being advanced enough to make use of space travel, is a fucking horror movie; sometimes you could feel how the game makes you think indoctrination, which is already enough creepy.
@lastword9047
2 жыл бұрын
@@xiosagikana28 asari are hot parasites lol
@RoxxBloodberry
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, and the thorian and the fact that the council seemed a-okay with the fact that a bunch of colonists were being mind-controlled and were angry at you for destroying it. It's actually a rather dystopian universe
@AjHop
2 жыл бұрын
Survival horror would be foreign land for BioWare but the Mass Effect universe is ripe with opportunity and settings to make a game of that nature.
@efxnews4776
2 жыл бұрын
@@AjHop honestly, Bioware have a gold mine wich they don't fkg know how to explore, it doesn't matter if survival horror is a foreign land to them, all they need to do is just try, they don't even have to focus so much on the plot, since the plot is already given is all a matter of change the perspective. Also they don't need to make a big fuss about it, go full on with a small story about survival horror in one of this places, just a simple spin off, well written and executed would be enough to bring back Bioware magic.
@kinderdm
2 жыл бұрын
For the asari, I think its less them actually manipulating us than it is each species seeing traits of the asari similar to them, and identifying with/being attracted to that trait. The humans see the face, eyes, and belly button and think human, the turias see the head ridges and think it looks like turians physiology. The salarians see the long necks and how slender they are and think its very salarian like. They each appeal to each species for different reasons, and you tend to lock onto whatever makes them the most like you. Plus, when the human mentions the belly button, that humans and asari have, but the others don't, the salarian also sees it, just doesnt identify that as making them more "human like."
@jon7941
2 жыл бұрын
The problem isn't strictly visual tho. Remember that salarians lack a conventional sex drive.
@danielfortesque6000
Жыл бұрын
Krogan be like : ha yes, blue meat.
@Cdre_Satori
Жыл бұрын
I also wouldnt say they are powerhungry blood sucking manipulators, more likely as their evolutionary survivival strategy was seduction not overpowering. My theory is that Asari went with predators protect us when they are attracted to us route. Kinda like Cats see humans as dumb cats that need feeding and protecting from rats. Asari just extended this power to mind flaying and extraterrestrial species.
@jenx5870
Жыл бұрын
@@jon7941 People took what was essentially a walk by joke way too seriously. It was supposed to be funny conversations to overhear as you walked by each time. As the OP said, they were pointing out similarities to each species that made the Asari attractive to them. They're relatable to all, which is why they are universally attractive, not because they are some weird tentacle creatures. Everyone saw the same thing, but each found something else attractive. The joke was that they took a Salarain that has no sex drive to a stripper in the first place. Of course, with jokes, if you have to explain them, they lose their humor.
@RichardWilliams2015
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, Avina blows the whole theory out of the water.
@RedCrusader-ph2vk
2 жыл бұрын
43:12 "It could eventually lead us to finding a solution, with the help of our sworn enemies, to save, not just the Milky Way this time, but the entire galaxy as we know it." Ah, yes. Not just to save the galaxy, but the galaxy as well. Shepard Commander saved not just the Earth! But the whole planet!
@dreadlock17
2 жыл бұрын
Lol
@JerkleCirc
2 жыл бұрын
I saw this, too, and it made me ugly laugh for a good two minutes. I love a good absurdity.
@kaitdillard
Жыл бұрын
This is unreasonably funny to me. I caught it too and cackled a bit.
@taka2721
Жыл бұрын
"as we know it" is the key here. He's talking not about galaxy as a place but as a... "system", "concept", "idea
@cathalhughes5996
Жыл бұрын
@taka2721 clearly he's talking about the chocolate bar
@michielvandersijs6257
2 жыл бұрын
The synthesis ending is actually the secret bad ending and proof that Bioware has indoctrinated the player, not Shepard. Consider the following: 1. The synthesis ending is effectively the only ending where the Reapers win. They achieve their stated goal of ensuring that synthetic civilization can no longer kill organic civilization, but they do so basically on a technicality. Namely by erasing the distinction between the two forever. Does it cause everlasting peace? No, not at all. Nothing has changed, except that neither side can be classified as either Organic or Synthetic and therefor technically organics can't be killed by synthetics. But its still possible to wage war over resources, over planets or any other thing people wage war over. On top of that, the synthesis ending ends with the Reapers surviving. In other words, with a race of 3 kilometer long super dreadnoughts surviving. The Reapers are instantly the most powerful conventional military force in the galaxy. Sure, they no longer have to harvest organics and commit genocide, but there is no guarantee that their intentions are suddenly peaceful. And there is nothing left to stop them if their intentions are not peaceful. Nor do they have to answer for their millennia long pattern of galactic genocide. On top of that, the Synthesis ending literally states that the Reapers are sharing their 'wisdom' with the civilizations of the galaxy. In other words, dictating the paths along which the civilizations progress, like they had done with the Mass Relays. The Mass Effect games constantly warn us of the dangers of accepting technology from others instead of inventing it yourself, as this blinds you to all alternative paths. 2. The Catalyst manipulates the player into picking Synthesis. Think of how the Catalyst presents itself. It could pick any form it wants but it shows itself as a child. A child that is both a metaphor for the innocent getting butchered by the Reapers as well as a more general metaphor for innocence. This is a way to get your guard down and instinctively trust what its saying.Think about what it tells Shepard about each choice. Destruction comes with a warning that civilizations are doomed to repeat the same pattern. Why do you accept this reasoning from the AI that controls the Reapers, the one faction that has been repeating a pattern for literally millions of years? Especially if you are good friends with an actual AI and just made peace between the Geth and Quarians? The whole game you are proving the central thesis of the Reapers wrong, but just because one of them tells you different you believe them? What else does the Catalyst say about the destruction ending? Oh yeah, it kills EDI and the Geth. Supposedly. No reason is given for why it would kill them but sure. Now, what does the Catalyst say about Synthesis. Well, nothing really, other than a pinky promise that it would result in peace and that EDI and the Geth won't die. Thats a very emotionally manipulative argument. 3. Picking the synthesis ending relies on 'outside' knowledge. Why do players pick the synthesis ending. Is it because its stated outcome is objectively better? No, the player isn't given enough information, and the information that is given is heavily slanted in favor of synthesis. But also consider the way the endings are color coded. The control ending is blue, the destroy ending red. The whole trilogy has trained the player into knowing that blue choices are paragon choices and red choices are renegade choices. This immediately makes every player who is playing as a paragon, which is most players, biased against the destroy ending, not because of the merits of the choice but because its colored the wrong way. Then why not pick the control ending, since its blue. Well because that choice is presented by the Illusive man, the main bad guy of the third game and known bad person. This also immediately biases players against the control ending. That leaves the green ending. A neutral color that has not been used before to represent a choice and thus doesn't bias the player immediately against it, making it the more attractive option of the three. Furthermore, the synthesis ending is only available to players with a high enough war score. A fact players know. Players also know that Mass Effect rewards completionist play. Completionist play is sort of required to get the best ending in ME2 and it also prevents the potential death of Wrex in ME1. Therefor, players logically assume that the ending that is gained through a completionist play of ME3 is naturally the best ending, without really considering the implications. The indoctrination theory is right, except its not Shepard thats indoctrinated, its the player because they make the objectively worst decision based mostly on metagaming assumptions. 4. Further proof of player indoctrination is found in this video, where the creator is talking about how actually, the Reapers are the good guys based on a theory that is based on one side mission, one throwaway line on Illium and the fact that it was a draft for the ending at some point before being discarded like a dozen of other draft endings that no one ever talks about. There is no more damning evidence of being indoctrinated than saying that the Reapers are the good guys and Shepard is evil for destroying them.
@LamborghiniDiabloSVPursuit
2 жыл бұрын
This man's ranting about the morality of machines who have no concept of good or bad to begin with, meanwhile I just picked the Synthesis ending because I get to live in a universe where having a legitimately sentient robot waifu is a reality.
@caseyfanning4624
2 жыл бұрын
“Player is indoctrinated” is my thoughts exactly. People so easily turn over as soon as they think their expectations are subverted and the bad guys have suddenly been good all along. Destroy ending always.
@plmokm33
2 жыл бұрын
The 3rd point kind of falls flat, or at least the part about completionist play. The player knows that the true ending which you can only have by a high enough war score is the Destroy Ending where Shepard survives. Without resorting to multiplayer, the only way I've found of getting a high enough war score is to make sure Wrex dies in the first game so that you can sacrifice the Krogan without them finding out and withdrawing support. That way you can get both the Salarians and Krogan on your side at the same time.
@erfanshahidi2804
2 жыл бұрын
@@plmokm33 my brother in christ don't talk blasphemy about killing brother Wrex because that is the greatest cardinal sin
@kingmasterlord
2 жыл бұрын
Synthesis doesn't kill allies and tames the Reapers. I'm with the Illusive Man on harvesting Reaper tech, and synthesis keeps it the most intact. mostly I'm on the side of the Geth surviving, and Joker getting his happy ending
@realCharAznable
Жыл бұрын
Can I just say Sovereign's voice was so perfectly creepy? Harbinger's was trying too hard, but Sovereign sounded equally transcendent and malevolent. Hopefully BioWare has hired some brains for ME4 and we don't have any Andromeda staff on that project, I miss this series so much.
@Wulfen73
Жыл бұрын
Andromeda staff were all let go after it shipped, EA's policies are rather nasty
@SuperLumianaire
Жыл бұрын
Agreed.
@rhoetusochten4211
Жыл бұрын
Seriously? I played Andromeda first (got it on sale) and the writing was so good I decided to go back and try the others. More than halfway through ME1 and (quite aside from graphics and gameplay) I find it an inferior work of art. I have heard 2 is best, buy so far I can only conclude that nostalgia tinted glasses have made MEA considered the worst. However, Sovereign does have a fantastic voice.
@Very_Nice_and_Polite_Person
Жыл бұрын
@@rhoetusochten4211 ME1 hasn't aged all that well, even with the Legendary Edition updates. I could understand not enjoying it as much if you didn't play the original version back in the day. It does get better the farther in the game you get. ME 2&3 are definitely a lot more fun, at least from a pure gameplay perspective. Although I might advise against choosing the Vanguard class in ME2 unless you want to die many, many unfair deaths due to the game's constant inability to let you lock onto enemies... I'm actually currently in the process of replaying the original trilogy on the Legendary Edition, I'm almost done with ME3 and then I'm planning on replaying (or trying to replay) ME:A for the first time since it launched. I didn't hate ME:A, but I definitely found it a downgrade in nearly every area except graphics and some of the combat mechanics. The open-world sections got really annoying and repetitive, they were totally unnecessary. The weapon system where you have to find resources to buy *blueprints* before you can actually buy the weapons was super obnoxious. None of the characters were really memorable to me, and a lot of them were downright irritating. A lot of the dialogue, especially the "humor", was really lame and cringy. The facial animations are terrible, or at least they were, they might have fixed that at least. The bad guys were lame, not particularly scary or threatening. The only other species introduced was kind of boring. And so many plot issues...like really, hundreds, if not thousands, of "the best and brightest" that got selected to join this epic journey become mindless, violent raiders in the new galaxy? How are there so many of them? As you can tell I could go on lol. Not that the original trilogy was perfect on any of those issues either, but I swear that it was so much better and more engaging. I'd be curious to see what your opinion will be after you finish all the games.
@AlbertoGarcia-wd7sc
Жыл бұрын
@@Very_Nice_and_Polite_Person I think ME1 is still the best game, even if it is clunky and has issues with combats and all of that. Is the game that presented the most interesting ideas in the series, the game that had trully epic moments but without being a tryhard like the third one. The second one is where the problems started, even though it had nice character stories, the whole Cerberus thing is absurd and then the reaper plot doesn't really move forward so in the third game they had to pull out the "weapon" thing out of nowhere to defeat the reapers.
@kylewhite8434
2 жыл бұрын
When I first played the original trilogy, I was let down by the original ending with the three choices. Synthesis, control and destroy. I chose destroy. I finally realized last year that the choice wasn't a physical battle but a mental battle, a battle of willpower. Imposed on the very player itself, throughout the trilogy we literally have people attempting the other two ending's. Control through the illusive man, and Synthesis through The Collector's. The true ending is even foreshadowed somewhat by Mordin's last word's "Had to be me. Someone else may have gotten it wrong." The reapers were trying to impose their will onto Shepherd to either do what they wanted(Synthesis) think about the various husk type enemies or to completely submit to them(Control) I believe the endings you see with either Synthesis or Control are what Shepherd is being fed by the Reapers, a false truth. Destroy is the only ending where the Reaper threat is terminated, and deals with the reality of War....that there are always sacrifices. That being said, a remarkable 4th wall breaking battle of willpower, the only issue I had with the ending was the lack of clarity and closure that was worthy of such a phenomenal trilogy.
@goodwitch5030
2 жыл бұрын
But EDI 😢
@kylewhite8434
2 жыл бұрын
@@goodwitch5030 In War the brutal truth is that you will lose friends and sometimes family. Eventually you can make a new EDI.
@Commandant_Aeon
2 жыл бұрын
@@kylewhite8434 And you need to remember that the one saying so is the starchild, which is most probably a hologram from a reaper.
@andrzejczajka7222
2 жыл бұрын
@@Commandant_Aeon what's interesting in some dialogue lines he refer about himself and the Reapers as "Us". So he admitted he is also a Reaper
@SynchronizorVideos
2 жыл бұрын
I feel like the Control option is a valid choice and a good (if sad) pick for a full Paragon Shepard. A strong-willed Shepard with a true moral compass can turn the Reapers into the galactic protectors that they were originally meant to be. But all of that is certainly open to interpretation. I’m glad that the Extended Cut DLC added the 4th option, where Shepard completely refuses to play the Reaper’s game and the next cycle is able to finally stop the Reapers for good.
@Mordraneth
Жыл бұрын
Sovereign always makes me feel so tiny and insignificant. One of the truly most terrifying antagonists in any medium I have ever experienced.
@beanlegion8529
2 жыл бұрын
"We simply...are." God that speech gives me chills
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Probably my favorite part in the first game and whole series, thanks for supporting my channel!
@brandoncotton5714
2 жыл бұрын
That conversation was amazing. Major cosmic horror vibes. Sovereign is so dismissive of everything because of its place in the universe.
@cjvaye99
2 жыл бұрын
what a liar 🤣🤣🤣
@cjvaye99
2 жыл бұрын
@@brandoncotton5714 yeah it's really arrogant makes blowing it up even more satisfying
@jenx5870
Жыл бұрын
Yep, and then we find out they aren't. They were created by some narcissistic creatures and are flawed AI who are less intelligent than EDI and the Geth. EDI can reprogram herself when new information comes in, but they get a major update that not all created and creators turn against each other and can coexist, and they don't have the processing power to change goals. Hmmm. Some great all powerful being. Or perhaps they were lying about their reasons and the end goal was just to kill all non synthetic beings all along. I preferred when they were mysterious and without motive. The devs should have written in a weakness of some sort, though. Needing a Macguffin to win against an enemy is cheap, and is just plain bad writing. I loved playing the trilogy, but the ending was horrific on so many levels. In fact, the 3rd game had a lot of issues that weakened the game, which is sad. It should have been the strongest one.
@sagearmaggedon7307
2 жыл бұрын
Interestingly, the crucible could also be theorized to be a test for the player to see if we have been paying attention. As the synthesis option could also be seen as a ruse. We know for a fact from the prothean VI Vendetta that the reapers use control to indoctrinate and trick certain characters. Perhaps they are using synthesis in the same way, because the reapers literally are synthesis. As Saren, who was also indoctrinated, stated: “I am a vision of the future. A union of flesh and steel. The strengths of both, the weaknesses of neither.” The fact that they use these same ideas that are presented to the player in the ending, to trick people, is very alarming to me.
@sagearmaggedon7307
2 жыл бұрын
Saren states: my way is the only way to survive. The reapers have literally been the catalyst’ solution to the problem for eons. Picking synthesis may very well be reinforcing their methods. The reapers, harbinger in particular, states “we are the harbinger of your perfection “. Synthesis is presented as the perfect, ultimate choice.
@DrumToTheBassWoop
Жыл бұрын
I mean the cypher video is the best message in the whole trilogy, it showed great suffering and pain from the merging of steel and flesh. So yeah, destroy seems to the most logical.
@NormalPersonCommenting
Жыл бұрын
I reject the idea that the existence of similarity implies congeniality. The Reapers were unions of flesh and steel, but not the will behind the flesh. True synthesis would require the component of will to be intact; rather than simply being liquified and having your base materials pumped into a false icon of your existence (the Human Form Reaper at the end of ME2.) The Reapers represent the path of control, not synthesis.
@DrumToTheBassWoop
Жыл бұрын
@@NormalPersonCommenting basically it's: Blue - Organics believed our rouse, *controlled* Green - We'll let the organics think they are equal partners, but.. Red - nooooooo, please nooooo...
@sagearmaggedon7307
Жыл бұрын
@@NormalPersonCommenting The same can be said about control as well if one wants to use that line of thinking. Perhaps this method of control is different than what the reapers presented with cerberus and past splinter factions. The thing that must be understood is that the reapers indeed did use the idea of synthesis to indoctrinate Saren. So we know that it is in there manipulation pallet
@BigShaggyUnsungHero
2 жыл бұрын
Lost me at the end with the synthesis agreements and reapers being good guys, but definitely a fun iceberg. Though I feel there were more codex/cerberus news from me2 that could've been covered. Really cool tidbits of lore in those.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for watching! And ya always more stuff to dig into I’m sure I’ll dive more into mass effect at some point, trying to get a bunch of different icebergs out to start
@draegoth
2 жыл бұрын
Fun iceberg? Dude is literally making shit up and gets so many things wrong.
@divolg7981
2 жыл бұрын
@@draegoth Yeah, I stopped watching after the "Asari are a bloodsucking monsters out to kill us all" entry, that shit was Alex Jones level retardation.
@KAlexanderTheGreat
2 жыл бұрын
No, the rachni queen couldn't communicate with her children due to her children being hatched away from her at the facility, so they didn't imprint on her. The reapers sent a signal that caused the wars, which then led to the krogan rebellion which effectively crippled the greatest fighting force in the milky way. Long story short, the reapers play the long con for sure
@johannjohann6523
Жыл бұрын
I have to admit Mass Effect set a new standard for video games. A ride into the world of science fiction that wasn't so outlandish to not be believable. Hats off to Bioware for creating not just a game, but really an alternate world one could immerse themselves in. And bringing in quality actors to do the voice overs, bringing another level of "realism" to the game. thumbs up.
@whensomethingcriesagain
2 жыл бұрын
The real reason the Thorian survived makes sense with the original plans. It was intelligent, but not technologically advanced, and had no evidence of using the Mass Effect or Element Zero in any way, so with the Reapers' original motivation it would not have been on their radar
@Jedi_Spartan
2 жыл бұрын
11:37 Well, if Shepard went through with Refusal, the Reapers would still have control of the Citadel and - like all cycles before - would have full access to its records which would likely involve information on the Raloi (even if all official reports involved them were purged, it's possible that someone made reference to them somewhere). 11:59 After listening to that conversation, I've noticed similarities to Turians (mainly in the Asari's head tentacles) but not seeing any similarities so maybe they look the way we perceive them and are just able to give off different types of pheromones that appeal to every species... or the Salarian in the conversation was just drunk.
@michalschnek8745
2 жыл бұрын
I'm (almost) 100% sure the "Guidingthe organics to Synthesis" theory(despite being interesting) can be easily discarded because of the fact that devs explicitly stated several times that Destroy ending is canon. Of course they can still retcon that in the future ME, but at this point it would be quite difficult to explain without getting into some Star-Trekk-ish alternative timelines stuff. Also, it is apparent from the next ME trailers that Destroy indeed happened.
@Blazians
2 жыл бұрын
@15:44 playing through the legendary edition (again) and I just caught some ambient talk from Javik (protheon dlc character) and he said the rachni were from his cycle (the one before ours) and that they bred only the most "warlike and cunning queens" until they became to cunning and warlike and they had to put them down. Says he thought they wiped them out, but they must have survived the reapers
@Andy_from_de
2 жыл бұрын
That "Cro Magnon" moment actually reminded me of something completely outside the ME franchise all together. Has no one here ever watched the beginning of "2001 - Space Oddessy"? The black obelisks that our proto-human ancestors find? What if ME is actually a spin-off of THAT story?
@sirjanska9575
2 жыл бұрын
The spheres are obviously inspires by/references to 2001, but they have a different function to the monoliths and the two franchises are not connected in any way or form.
@cmdrtianyilin8107
2 жыл бұрын
I have a theory. You see, the dark energy theory works when the fundamental shape of the universe is somewhat restrictive. You see when the universe is flat and has positive cosmological constant dark energy, the heat death happens. However, in a closed universe, everything in the universe gets reshuffled, and at some point, after a very, very, very long time, the matters of the universe get rearranged in a way that initially happened, it's called the Poincare Recurrence Time. My theory is, that the Reapers were trying to send information from one point in time of the universe to the next point after the Poincare recurrence time via the green ending. The green ending, although on the surface means the synthesis of the organics and synthetics, the point is being created as an initial value, after a very long time, every matter of the universe will eventually come into the previous initial value, thus preserving the essence of the organics.
@sarasunshinemt4444
2 жыл бұрын
So basically a controlled destruction?
@cmdrtianyilin8107
2 жыл бұрын
@@sarasunshinemt4444 yes.
@johnspartan98
2 жыл бұрын
Mass Effect is built on many plausibility's. That's the reality of it. Child asks: "Did that already happen?" Old guy (probably Shepard): "Yes but some of the details have been lost in time."
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Ya I would agree with you I think that’s what makes each ending make sense depending on how you spin things, also thanks for supporting my channel!
@kalimaxine
2 жыл бұрын
My Shepard was female and old guy was still a guy. So probably not Shepard.
@basedvorenus7497
2 жыл бұрын
@@kalimaxine Male Shepard is the canon Shepard
@kalimaxine
2 жыл бұрын
@@basedvorenus7497 That may be but my Shepard doesn't turn into a dude. And if he was supposed to be Shepard I'm sure they would have thought to make a human female as well as the male.
@dunkchunger394
2 жыл бұрын
I was fully convinced of the "Asari using mind control to influence other species" theory up until a throw away line in the Citadel DLC house party mission, during the part where you can have your crew dancing. If you go to the circle with Garrus, Tali, and Liara all dancing near the kitchen, they say something along the lines of not knowing how Liara and Shepard can dance with their "weird legs" referencing the more humanoid leg shapes shared by the Asari and Humans. I may have misinterpreted the point of the line, or maybe I'm reading way too much into a joke, but surely the Asari appearance would go beyond just the facial structure and resemble most of the body to look as familiar as possible to other races if they were to be parasitic, right? Also let's be real, there must be some artwork made by Turians, Quarians, Salarians, etc. that included Asari, and physical art (and the statues as you mentioned) must be objective enough to bypass some parasitic mind control. At the very least, the leg comment Garrus and Tali make is enough to convince me the Asari are just meant to be conventionally beautiful by this world's standards. Still, the conversation the guys have in ME2 is very suspect. How could anyone possibly look at, say, Samara, and see a resemblance to Mordin or Garrus? I think we need some Krogan input on this one
@nomorebeans800
10 ай бұрын
I mean liara can only wear human armour so we know they are humanoid
@KeytarArgonian
2 жыл бұрын
*on the Rachni* It’s pretty much confirmed in all 3 Mass Effect games that the ‘sour yellow note’ that essentially took control of the Rachni was the reapers all along, possibly even Sovereign itself. Sovereign never left. It bided it’s time, and sent the signal to the keepers to activate the citadel relay. It didn’t happen. So sovereign had to very carefully bide it’s time. And in that time between it’s latest awakening and deciding ‘ok, enough is enough let’s wipe the slate’ it may have spent hundreds or thousands of years cultivating the right moment. And that may well have included using the Rachni. In ME:3 Javik tells Shepard that the Rachni were present in the previous cycle, and the protheans used them essentially as weaponised units against the Reapers, so somehow they survived the previous cycle. I speculate the Reapers kept the Rachni alive as tools for the following cycle, so Sovereign would have known about them all along and even been able to access them via their relay and deactivating without much effort, preparing the Rachni, poisoning their processes with its ‘sour yellow note’. Essentially preparing a flood for the moment the other races activate that particular relay.
@roryscott2941
2 жыл бұрын
Great Vid! Though I prefer the theory that the black matter was created by the Reapers as a fail safe to kill organic life because the Reapers are jerks
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Ya could be that too I kinda tailored some of the theories to my view to help my a grand one at the end but either way thanks for taking the time to watch and support my channel!
@MaxPowers2.0
2 жыл бұрын
Well the reapers never killed all organic life, they “harvested” organics once they reached a certain level of technological advancement and left the others alone. Seeing the reapers as diabolically evil is too simple
@The_Viscount
2 жыл бұрын
It's worth noting that the original creative director of Mass Effect had envisioned this as a science fiction Lovecraft Verse. The Reapers, the Thorian, the Rachni Queen, the Protheans...all these aspects mirror the universe of HP Lovecraft with uncaring, laughing gods, madness inducing artifacts, and knowledge man was not meant to know. The original motivation of the Reapers was supposed to be stopping the heat death of the universe. Every cycle was harvested for technology, genetic abnormalities etc. The whole of the Galaxy was a giant experiment to create a species capable of strong biotic potential. Once a species with strong enough biotics was recognized, the reapers would harvest them to build a new reaper. It was hoped they would eventually find enough technology and genetics to stop the expansion of the universe. This was the original idea for the trilogy. It was thrown out the window when Bioware changed creative directors. But the influence of this original plan can be clearly seen.
@Ale-dd3ek
Жыл бұрын
Can be seen... ME1: Sovereign Simply says "we impose order on the Chaos of organic Evolution" ME2: only Tali missions mention something ME3 (without organic/synth): ehi, do you know that Every time you use Biotic charge you kill stars? How dare you Dark Energy storyline was very interesting but they should have implied It more in previous games
@HoHhoch
Жыл бұрын
@@Ale-dd3ek If you help the agent on Noveria, she reappears on Illium in ME2. If you help her again, you can sit down and have a little chat and she says she's going to start looking into dark energy and companies that are researching it because there's been a lot of hubbub going on around it.
@chloewebb5526
Жыл бұрын
The second playthrough I did of ME1, when I heard the Rachni talk of their "soured notes", I immediately knew it was the Repears, and have thought that ever since. In ME3, it was confirmed when the reapers clearly tried again with the rachni.
@ChmielTHE
Жыл бұрын
The Rachni also talked about "oily shadows" which greatly contributed to indoctrination theory
@amancioxavier9860
2 жыл бұрын
The First one, EDI said that she was in transition from VI to AI, she also mentioned that she was panicking
@myself2noone
2 жыл бұрын
Given how Liara's dad talks about other Asari I think we can safely assume they're humanoid.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Ya most likely it’s not true but a fun theory nonetheless haha, thanks so much for checking out multiple of my videos and supporting by the way!
@pentadeuce1086
2 жыл бұрын
So my biggest theory on Mass Effect; is that everyone in the Milky Way (At least everyone who has the eezo tech they reverse engineered from the protheans) is lightly indoctrinated. Not enough to fully control them, but just enough to get them to align to certain ideas. Ideas that limit them, and make them less of a threat to the reapers. As we know all of the tech used is reverse engineered from Prothean tech, but that was engineered from another race, and another, and another all the way back to the initial harvest and creation of the Reapers. This would mean that while it isn't confirmed; all advanced tech would have small amounts of reaper tech in it. Not to mention the Citadel, and Mass Relays which are genuinely reaper tech. All reaper tech has the ability to indoctrinate people, so it could happen. As for evidence that it has we need to look at the Milky Way galaxy in Shepherd's day: After Mass Effect 1 they switched from using an internal cooling system to disposable heatsinks. In lore this was used to amp up the accelerators for more power. We can test this in Mass Effect 3, in the Citadel DLC we can get an M7 Lancer with the old internal cooling. Compared to the more modern M8 Avenger; the M7 is better in almost every way. It's lighter, has a theoretically infinite capacity, and does almost twice the damage per shot with the same fire rate. The damage alone proves that the M8 doesn't have more powerful accelerators than the M7, so why does it use the thermal clip system? Because that's what the Reapers want. Does it really seem coincidental that effectively everyone decided to go with this likely inferior system shortly after Sovereign blew up on the presidium? Exposing more people, and more influential people to reaper tech. Thus endangering them to indoctrination. The biggest piece however is in the council's ban on Mass Accelerator weapons that are too powerful. This doesn't seem too weird, until in Mass Effect 2 when you realized that an ancient species used an incredibly powerful Mass Accelerator weapon to one shot a reaper. Imagine if every dreadnaught in the Turian, Citadel, Asari, and Alliance fleets had guns that strong. The reapers would have taken huge losses. Instead the civilized species of the galaxy were effectively steamrolled. Not even in the Traverse, or Teminus systems are guns that strong used. There, outside of Citadel Space it would technically be legal to build them, or by an inventive black ops like Cerberus. Yet we still don't see them in the Batarian fleet, or in Aria's Traverse fleets. Because it was all indoctrination to keep them from advancing that far. Far enough to be a real threat.
@ancienthero7579
2 жыл бұрын
Oh, the Citadel was definitely a multi-layered trap. Not only would it draw the leaders of the galaxy to it for a swift removal of leadership when the harvest begins, but could also serve to influence the leaders to make poor choices in the meantime... like, say, dismissing the reaper threat or passing laws limiting dreadnought numbers. And depending on the how distance and exposure time relates to influence, the relays definitely could have been meant to nudge some minds, since basically everyone passes through them Was the newer clip based system supposedly more powerful? I thought that they reverse engineered it from stolen Geth analytics where the Geth found that detaching a heat sink was faster then waiting for the gun to cool down. Though, that still leaves the suspicious question of why there wasn't a hybrid cooling system, since going from 'basically infinite ammo' to 'limited ammo' seems like a pretty big step down. Also, I love the Lancer. Slap an anti-armor mod on there, and you can chew through brutes and banshees. If you add armor shredding powers on top of that...well...
@dexster8618228
2 жыл бұрын
@@ancienthero7579 I thought they defined a ratio for how many dreadnoughts each species can have compared to eachother not an actual limit. Or am I remembering that wrong?
@ancienthero7579
2 жыл бұрын
@@dexster8618228 You are right, but that still means that there are fewer dreadnoughts then there otherwise might be. If the Turians are content with the number that they have, nobody else can build any more, if they already match the ratio.
@dexster8618228
2 жыл бұрын
@@ancienthero7579 Ah that makes sense then. I think the rule existing makes sense, but once the reaper threat was established they should have loosened them. But of course then we get back to the problem of the council doing everything they can to refuse reality so that plan is kinda dead in the water.
@sarasunshinemt4444
2 жыл бұрын
One key bit of "Holy hell, everyone is indoctrinated on the Citadel" for me was that the council had made it a law that you couldn't interfere with a keeper. And that, even tho the asari had been on the station for over 2K years, they STILL didn't know where he keepers come from, where the "heart" of the station was and didn't have a full map of the keeper tunnels throughout the station (Bailey bitches about that during the coup mission). Millions of people on that station, the seat of power for the whole damn galaxy, and the council doesn't know EVERY damn inch of the place?!
@trevormatzke2983
Жыл бұрын
There is actually a 4th option in ME3 for the ending. If you shoot the child/Catalyst, Shepard makes no choice at all and the cycle continues as intended. Very much the worst choice of them all lol, but I don't really hear it discussed in any KZitem videos about Mass Effect, so I figured I'd share it.
@TabbyVee
2 жыл бұрын
I really hate the "Asari are parasites" theory because if you literally just look at the fucking Asari race, they possess the characteristics of all 3 of the races involved, Human face, Turian Head Shape, Silurian Horn Structure. The asari very rudimentarily resemble the 3 races when looking at the head along, which is the most important part of "seeing similarities" to these species.
@UltraFlea
2 жыл бұрын
Well remember that you can complete the the citadel dlc at any point. As for Asari 1 conversation between Liara and joker contradicts the pov asari theory because Asari would have to know exactly each species sees them when Joker asks Liara if she can move her tendrals....she would need to know exactly what each person not each species perceives them....after everyone sees beauty differently.
@HovektheArtist
2 жыл бұрын
Forgot to mention the eleutania sphere can be activated without decoding if you were given the bauble by shaira the consort, theres an additional bit written of there being a slot that the item perfectly fits into then it activates
@Slyphantom
Жыл бұрын
The whole thing about the rachni invasion being because of the reapers it practically confirmed ME3. If i remember right, when you go save the queen in 3 she tells you how her song is being corrupted which is why she cant control the reaper controlled rachni. She tells you how her children are being corrupted similarly how they were back during the rachni war.
@DDTRAINER
2 жыл бұрын
It actually makes a lot of sense that they'd have adjusted when exactly you could recruit certain squadmates in ME2/3 because I went through the Legendary Edition and just jumbled everything out of order in ME1 because I could and missed at least 2 major cutscenes because Liara was specifically missing from them or a certain key event hadn't been triggered in the right order (like going to Virmire before Noveria but after Feros, yeah that was a roller coaster of confusion).
@MediumChungus223
2 жыл бұрын
The cut was made because of disc size limitations on the Xbox 360. The discs could only store a certain amount of information, and mass effect 2 had to split up, and Horizon is the cut off point.
@jakespacepiratee3740
2 жыл бұрын
BTW, the concept of Purgatory is not Christian, but Catholic.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Oh damn good catch you are right lol, appreciate the feedback and support on the channel!
@Ramschat
2 жыл бұрын
Why would the reapers go through all this trouble for millions of years, only so Shepard can force synthesis on every person in the galaxy? They could have forcefully synthesized everyone at the start instead. What does this 'testing' of commander Shepard meaningfully change? It feels rather esoteric and vague, there's nothing concrete to gain by doing this
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
I see it as they have to evolve organics to the point where synthesis can happen it’s not just something where you combine the two it could be explained that it actually was research the reapers were doing hence why they harvest every cycle to figure out how it do it. On top of this it shows they could actually be the good guys cause in the end they let Shepard and the organics make the choice since only through organics opting for it does it show they are reaper to defend against a bigger threat the reapers know about the whole time. At least for me this makes the story SUPER interesting based on all the implications of reapers being good, a greater threat, etc and it basically is what make me love the first mass effect so much
@alphalancer
2 жыл бұрын
Metanarratively, they had to come up with something after the head writer left the company, taking all of his ideas with him. In-game, I think there's dialogue somewhere (possibly added in Leviathan) that points to Synthesis requiring a level of psychological readiness that the species of past cycles didn't display (organic and/or synthetic). It's possible they tried Synthesis on a smaller scale, with a species that wasn't ready, and they destroyed themselves out of some sense of dysmorphia or disassociation. The fact that negotiating peace between the quarians and the geth is even on the table, boosted by Shepard's extensive cybernetic augmentations, suggests that this cycle could be ready.
@Ramschat
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming It's possible. Except the part about "they let Shepard and the organics make the choice" The rest of the galaxy did not consent to it at all, they didn't even know about it. Shepard got to decide everyone's fate, altering their bodies just like that. I don't see how this is morally different from the Reapers deciding it for them millions of years earlier. And if they were researching it and this was their intended end-goal, why did they not keep a few thousand indoctrinated scientists alive every cycle to design the catalyst?
@deanf6036
2 жыл бұрын
@@alphalancer Im pretty sure that the star child himself said that they had tried synthesis early on and it failed horribly, and so began the harvest cycles until eventually a race would evolve to the point that synthesis was possible. In ME2 Harbinger I think talks about how the harvest is meant to "preserve" the races through their dna, implying that they were somehow able to store the a race's entire knowledge, culture and genome like data in the biopaste that was being used to make the human reaper (presumably all the reapers really) . Maybe the plan all along was that once synthesis could be achieved, the new merged species could begin to re-awaken those long lost species from the data stored from all the previous harvests within the various reaper dreadnaughts... My biggest problem with the reapers turning out the be "the good guys all along" is just how utterly freaking brutal they are. and the couple of times we get to speak with one about its intentions, they are extremely doomy towards us and never allude to any kind of hidden virtuous purpose, they simply want to dominate and kill everything. But maybe thats what the individual reapers were programmed to think to make them more efficient, with the catalyst entity keeping that bit to itself to prevent any possible complications. shrugs.
@alphalancer
2 жыл бұрын
@@deanf6036 I think it's less that they "were the good guys all along", and more a case of "doing the wrong thing for the right reasons"-their assessment of the situation is accurate, but their solution is repugnant. And I think the inscrutable brutality of their methods, and how it surprised even the Leviathans, is thematically appropriate for the story because it both shows the uttermost extreme of the Renegade "whatever it takes to complete the mission" mindset and highlights the historic cognitive divide between organic and synthetic minds. In the past, AI was created top-down, starting with a goal and building an intelligence that would mechanically pursue that goal: that's literally what the Catalyst was, what it created its first proxies for (and, subsequently, the Reapers), and Javik's account suggests this was how the metacons came about. I can only imagine that the intervening generations of AI came about via similar means, and things really only changed with the advent of the Geth. The Geth developed their intelligence bottom-up, being an emergent property of Quarian-coded, task-oriented runtimes working cooperatively to reap efficiencies from distributed computing, much like how an organic mind is significantly based on its experiences learning to puppeteer its flesh-suit and navigate the world. This different origin gives the Geth a more organic perspective of the universe, as shown in the inciting incidents of the Morning War and the metacon crisis of the Prothean era. The metacons were effectively the Borg, synthetic components installed into and puppeteering organic flesh, pursuing their goals without regard for the will of their hosts; in contrast, the Geth got their start (or, at least, revealed having done so) when the Quarians overreacted to multiple platforms asking whether they have souls after studying religious texts.
@yetiman8442
2 жыл бұрын
An odd theory I've had for a while. By the end of Mass 3, Shepard is so modified that uploading their mind to a digital framework is not only possible; we in fact did it with Legion. I think Shepard survived the end in this way. edited for clarity.
@alphalancer
2 жыл бұрын
Makes sense, especially in light of the non-zero chance that we're puppeteering a VI programmed to think it's Shepard starting in ME2. It also explains the Citadel DLC Purgatory, since the Catalyst encounter feels surreal as a physical encounter but makes total sense as a meeting in a virtual environment. Shepard probably connected to the Crucible controls through a neural uplink and their mind was preserved in some portion of the Citadel computer network, with the events of the DLC being a simulation to keep their mind busy.
@yetiman8442
2 жыл бұрын
@@alphalancer It also gives them a way to explain shepard in the next game if they bring him in. A digital mind doesn't age.
@Demigodish4o3
2 жыл бұрын
"Desteoying the reapers doesnt solve anything, because organics will end up creating more synthetics." Is like saying you should never shower because you'll just get dirty again anyways.
@taka2721
Жыл бұрын
Not really no. It's just that in the face of other possibilities, like Control or Synthesis, problem posed by the Reapers at the end of Destruction is still there
@gerbilpanda1703
2 жыл бұрын
So, my thing about the ending (and my specific problem with Synthesis) lies in the themes of the games themselves, and the order which you unlock endings by your galactic readiness. The easiest ending to unlock is destroy. When you do this, you get the basic destroy cutscene. You then unlock the control ending, and then the synthesis ending. But when you unlock the synthesis ending, you get a different destroy ending: one where Shepard takes a breath in the final shot. And then there's themes of Synthesis, Control and Destroy throughout the series. Saren is Synthesis. The Illusive Man is Control. And the Catalyst is destroy. Also, synthesis is straight up space magic. It doesn't make sense. Everything else in Mass Effect is based on theoretical science. That's one of the draws, is that all of the sci fi weirdness is mostly based in actual theoretical technology. Synthesis is based on nothing. It's just "haha everyone's a cyborg now without their consent good luck with that". Control is just a poor decision overall, we've seen what happens to Cerberus. Then there's the possibility that a lot of people don't consider: The Catalysr could just be lying. Maybe the crucible *does* destroy all synthetic life. Or maybe the catalyst is terrified and wants to make destroying it, and the reapers, seem less good than it is. Maybe it's a controversial opinion, but I think it would've been better if the game just didn't give us an option for the ending. Just "this is what the crucible does. You either fire it or let the reapers win." Obviously it's not perfect, but it also doesn't give you the illusion of choice that just kinda feels like shit when every ending kinda sucks. Maybe give it different degrees of success based on the galactic readiness score.
@sanyokS1
2 жыл бұрын
the rachni at some point actually say that their song was soured by the old machines which is basically 99.99 percent reapers for sure, i thought you were gonna say that keepers could have been created from rachni due to their abilities
@ChmielTHE
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, but that conversation was about Rachni wars, i've always seen it as Sovereign first attempt to retake control of citadel. Using Rachni as tools just as with the Geth
@butterchurn8819
Жыл бұрын
One thing I've never heard mentions of in Mass Effect discussion is... The Reapers aren't dead. They tell us that each time they wipe out the advanced life in a cycle, they create new Reapers based on those strongest of them, then send them out into deep space. It's why I was wholly expecting Andromeda to inevitably be another race against time against The Reapers. The Reapers are still out there.
@sanyokS1
2 жыл бұрын
The dark energy and mass drive/eezo connection with reapers doesn't make sense because in the first game sovereign explicitly states that the reapers let advancing races find the relays and the citadel knowing that they will eventually use the same technology, that, if we believe the theory the reapers were trying to stop, which for a basically eternal AI seems like quite a dumb logical mistake to make
@sanguine7616
2 жыл бұрын
What if the Mass Relays and the technology they intend for us to find is the most efficient and least damaging form that Mass Effect technology can take? Maybe there are other ways to use Mass Effect technology that damage the galaxy even faster. That way the technology the Reapers leave for everyone is just the best they can do while they find a solution. It still damages the galaxy, but it's better than letting civilisations run rampant with the technology and potentially develop even more harmful ways to use it.
@sanyokS1
2 жыл бұрын
@@sanguine7616 why not just destroy it all so that it takes thousands of years for us to figure out, surely then it would be better, or make the cycle shorter so that around the time we would start figuring it out they could stop us, there is just too many issues with this
@sanguine7616
2 жыл бұрын
@@sanyokS1 True, that is a fair point. Although, that would mean they'd have to keep a much closer eye on everyone. There would have to be Reapers monitoring every sapient species to watch and make sure they don't develop that tech. Plus they'd have to make sure they found and were aware of every single sapient species in the entire galaxy. That takes a lot more effort and man power and means less time trying to devise a solution. Lastly, trying to thoroughly destroy every last piece of Mass Effect tech to make sure no one would find it would be impossible, they'd constantly searching, which again, means less minds finding a solution. Generally, I think you're right that there would be better solutions to this problem, but I don't think the Reaper's current plan is completely outside the realm of reason.
@sanyokS1
2 жыл бұрын
@@sanguine7616 i feel like, if even normal people like us are able to understand that there are better solutions, an ancient AI would definitely have figured something out much sooner, but i guess we'll have to see if they retcon something in the new instalment or just not mention this at all
@sanguine7616
2 жыл бұрын
@@sanyokS1 Yeah you're definitely right on that first part. I'm curious what the hell they'll do for the next game, seems like it'd be tough to follow up a trilogy with such a messy ending.
@wwbbcg01
2 жыл бұрын
Great video! As for the spherical artifacts throughout the game like on Eletania, those were only thought of to be Prothean artifacts until the Leviathan DLC. It is revealed the artifacts are created by the Leviathan and scattered across the galaxy. They are used as windows into civilization by those in hiding, and extend the reach of Leviathan indoctrination. One of these artifacts is even used to allow the Leviathan to indoctrinate Anne Bryson so Shephard and crew can trace the signal to Despoina. They are functionally similar to the Palantir in Lord of the Rings. For that theory, it would make sense to swap out the Prothean for the Leviathan though. They kept tabs on humans too, as well as races from every other cycle.
@Petulant_Marait
2 жыл бұрын
13:06 nearly killed me, you gotta say something before blasting people with images like that.
@MrRjh63
2 жыл бұрын
Its such a huge shame that a leak about the dark matter storyline caused them to stop that storyline in favor of the one we got in ME3.
@Edax_Royeaux
Жыл бұрын
"We endure" *Red Explosion* "Nevermind"
@doom7872
2 жыл бұрын
24:30 I'm pretty sure the implication is that the Shadow Broker captured a Keeper to perform tests and gather intel on it.
@jenx5870
Жыл бұрын
If you're talking about keeper 20, it's an Easter egg. In ME1, there's a side quest where you have to scan 21 keepers, and there was one (#20) that would notoriously get stuck behind stuff and be really hard to scan/find until they patched the game.
@augustvalek
2 жыл бұрын
Love how people try to justify bad writing by creating all kind of conspiracies. No, buddy, destruction was the canonical ending, they just added the fake choice because "depth"and "engagement"
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Ya that’s fine I get that side too! For me it’s more about how it tied into the themes I made a video about it after this one, which is I think what makes the games great different people can see it in different ways, thanks for watching by the way
@divolg7981
2 жыл бұрын
Destruction was one of the (two, I assume) endings originally planned for the trilogy. Then, for some idiotic reason, Bioware decided to scrap its counterpart, rewrite ME3 endgame into complete gibberish, and pile on killing EDI and the Geth onto "Destroy", to make the two new endings at least semi-palatable.
@christopherwichman7968
2 жыл бұрын
Destroy is definitely the right decision from the get go the mission has always been to destroy the reapers. It's only the 3rd game our focus starts to waver and these new options pop up.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
I totally see that side too I just find synthesis more “poetic” I guess. Either way thanks for taking the time to support my work!
@christopherwichman7968
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming Yeah no hate man, I just don't agree lol
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
@@christopherwichman7968 ya and thanks for being cool about it good to have some level headed discussion haha
@jakespacepiratee3740
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming Yeah plus isnt Destroy Genocide of the Geth, the Sentient Minds trapped inside the Reapers, and potentially even some organics due to normal technology also shutting down? Honestly I think Me3 might have been better if all 3 Endings happened, but only to select areas of the Galaxy. That way, the consequences of all 3 can be explored in Mass Effect 4... eh, considering Mass Effect Andromeda saying that the Geth are "hostile and isolationist" in their time, i doubt this will happen.
@tonyman1106
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming if the reaper died in synthesis ending i think it make sense. Also Keeping the giant galactic murdering robot around would not be very popular or a good idea.
@jgj75
2 жыл бұрын
Good video, but if the plot of ME4 s that Shepard chose Destroy, but should have chosen Synthesis, a lot of fans will be irate all over again. As others have pointed out already, Synthesis was Saren's goal, and Control was the Illusive Man's goal. Casey Hudson and/or Mac Walters conveniently chose to gloss over that in their rush to get the game out on time, and since Casey was bound and determined to have a "bittersweet" ending. The current dev team knows all this. I would be shocked if that is the plot route they choose to go with.
@fpconzulu4335
Жыл бұрын
Ya lost me at "Synthesis was the best". The only good reaper is a dead reaper. I do hope ME4 involves the Dark Energy issue. Would also be nice for some final closure on Shepard and Tali as the Destroy ending is canon based on the reveal teaser and other media. Also Tali is the only option for man Shep. Don't @me
@thyrlindberg9310
2 жыл бұрын
I liked the blue ending most. Not because I want to control the reapers but rather cause of what might be possible. In the blue ending Shepard's emotions and memories becomes the prime directive for the reapers and they leave the invasion to help repair what was destroyed. But if shepard is the new master AI in a sense, doesn't that make it possible for them to order the reapers to create a new synthetic body which Shepard can then upload their mind into, like EDI. This makes it possible for them to be with their friends and such again AND keep peace between synthetics and biological beings. I mostly thought like this cause I romanced Liara and imagine having to spend her next 900 having to cope with shepard's death and subsequintly having to take care of the normandy crew and whatever conflict happens next. Also if she doesn't get together with anyone else that means she is slowly gonna watch her friends die out as she at the end is alone, maybe synth-Shep can help her for a bit.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Ya that’s possible for sure I guess I just find synthesis more poetic cause Shepard being a dictator is just as bad as saren etc even if we like him it goes against principle, synthesis breaks the cycle
@thyrlindberg9310
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming I won't deny that I did get a few tears when Liara hugged EDI in Synthesis ending Edit: I did like the synthesis ending quite a bit, infact if not for how I worried about Liara's future as mentioned I would have chosen synthesis over the others but simply because of Liara and the fact I romanced her in my current playthrough I had to choose it. Am planning on doing a Tali romance run and then the go to ending is without a doubt the synthesis ending so there can be lasting peace between the geth and quarians
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
@@thyrlindberg9310 haha glad you liked something in it, thanks so much for supporting my channel!
@gabrielsb3419
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming Why do you think Shepard would necessarily be a dictator? The entire point of the morality system throughout the games is that your choices matter and reinforce themselves (the more Paragon choices you make, the more difficult Paragon choices you can make). My personal canon is the Paragon Control ending. Conflict is the natural state of the universe, but neither cycles of violence (Destroy) nor eliminating individuality by the means of a non-consensual melding of identities (Synthesis) are satisfactory answers. Only love, the struggle to empathise and comprehend, and diplomacy are definite answers. All the love and care the companions had for Shepard, all that was demonstrated through the games and the Citadel DLC turned her into the best individual to reconfigure the Catalyst. In a way, the Paragon Control ending parallels EDI's conversation in which she states that due to Shepard's influence she'll reconfigure her core functionality from self-preservation to caring and love. Paragon Control Shep isn't a dictator. She's the most powerful instance of Life's love by and for itself
@SynchronizorVideos
2 жыл бұрын
@@gabrielsb3419 Yeah, full Paragon Shepard and the Control ending are my personal canon, too.
@aerynstormcrow
2 жыл бұрын
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Liara ended up a bloodsucking monster. I can’t stand her.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Lol would for sure add some character development 😂, thanks for supporting the channel!
@Vexxah
2 жыл бұрын
Okay that made me laugh out loud 🤣
@tamop
Жыл бұрын
The best part of the "The synthesis ending" idea is actually believing that Reapers, dozens of millions year old beings, with all the knowledge of hundreds, maybe thousands of civilisations they reaped couldn't force a sneak synthesis process. They couldn't do it themselves. They couldn't indoctrinate any politics, or scientists, or religious fanatics of the "lessier species" to do the Complementation ME-style. Not even once, for all the dozens of millions of years.
@austinclark5278
Жыл бұрын
I really hope Bioware uses the DARK ENERGY theory again as a plot point. Its has soooo much potential.
@pyguy7
2 жыл бұрын
The ironic thing is that the Indoctrination theory holds more weight and makes more sense than taking the original ending at face value.
@therainbowconnection6813
2 жыл бұрын
That's because the writing was bad. the Indoctrination theory is definitely not canon though.
@biboofers6390
2 жыл бұрын
Regarding the Asari theory: I believe the intention is simply that the different species focus on different aspects as secondary sex characteristics, which the asari just happen to have something similar they can project on to. The hair... tentacle... things function similar to head frills for turians. The face reminds Salarians of their own. Meanwhile humans just like some good ol' T&A.
@rhetiq9989
2 жыл бұрын
The synthesis ending may be in line with the Catalyst’s supposed agenda, but that’s exactly why I’m against it. Why give in to the mastermind behind all the things I’ve desperately tried to stop and more importantly why surrender to something I know absolutely little about? Destroy maybe the most obvious and easy choice to make but it’s still the only ending that pays respects to all the “Good guys” we’ve met along the way in the game, whether it be the Alliance brass or our squadmates, and it reinforces all organic’s capability to think for themselves and to forge their own path forward separate from synthetics. It may not turn out to be the best path in the long run according to the Catalyst, but if there’s anything we’ve learned from the genophage cure quest is that everyone deserves their shot at a second chance to be better
@Aethgeir
2 жыл бұрын
Really wish they'd revisited the Thorian. It was probably my favorite alien in all of Mass Effect. (Also, I refuse to believe there was only one of them.)
@TheDrexxus
2 жыл бұрын
Asari look just like they appear in mass effect. It would be an interesting conspiracy theory that we are perceiving them differently, but the reality is their artwork and sculptures and other giant ass statues would reflect their true form, especially when viewed by people who had never been within proximity of an Asari to be affected by whatever pheromones they have or potential low level mind control. Just imagine some kids in school learning about aliens back on earth who have never encountered any aliens of any kind looking at images of Asari taken with cameras, or photos of their statues, etc, and being like "what the hell is with how they look". This is the sort of thing that would've been recognized a long time ago. Now I can believe that they look more attractive when you're around one, but I think it is more to do with you finding them attractive as they are and confusing your brain into thinking the things you conventionally find attractive are the traits they have, but their actual appearance is as seen in game.
@oliverstianhugaas7493
2 жыл бұрын
The truth about the Asari is far darker; They were created by the Protheans to be a servant species. Just like the Haanar were given speech and thought, but that was only a test for their true plan of creating the ultimate product. Think about it, slavery was normal in the Prothean Empire. Now what you would *use* an all female species for on the other hand ...
@SirTorcharite
2 жыл бұрын
For foraging and prepping food with their evolutionary strong eye sight? Right? Am I right? 😃
@EvidentlyEezy
2 жыл бұрын
@@SirTorcharite ahh yes "Foraging" we have dismissed those claims
@troyscribner4342
2 жыл бұрын
Its a shame andromeda wont ever be given the chance to become something great of its own.
@CondemnedInformer
2 жыл бұрын
No, I only see Blue, Blue, Red. Saren was synthesis, the Illusive Man was control and Shepherd was destroy. It goes deeper then that, but all other options failed.
@Smeginator
Жыл бұрын
Regardless of the problems with the other endings (free will is taken away in both - synthesis is imposed on everyone, Shepard’s will controls the Reapers), if you watch closely, Shepard essentially turns into a husk (or something very similar) in the Control and Synthesis endings
@merleshand2442
2 жыл бұрын
Destroy is the only ending that made sense the other 2 I figured were just last ditch attempts at indoctrination to save itself
@im3phirebird81
2 жыл бұрын
Same here
@melliza9669
Жыл бұрын
Having a "canon ending" would be the worst thing they could do, alot of the great things about ME is the fact that you can change so many events via save import
@finesseandstyle
Жыл бұрын
If it's a direct sequel to ME3 then it must have a canon ending. Unless you want to accommodate to the 3 endings and have the game play out different or smth. It's possible to have this if it doesn't really change much in the game.
@davidstinger1134
Жыл бұрын
The thing is, it's the only way to have the franchise continue. Just say "Destroy is canon" and move on. Yes, sorry for the like 5 lunatics who chose the control and synthesis endings, but Bioware dug themselves out of a hole and this is the only way out.
@hcook1023
Жыл бұрын
The reason I don't like "Sheppard made a mistake" new game theme is the exact same as why Kotor was set so long ago it didn't impact the movies, why Andromeda was literal in another galaxy, why the new Star Wars trilogy failed, why rings of power failed, and why House of the Dragon succeeded, if a new saga of an IP needs to respect, probably love, and most definitely not deconstruct the main cast and world building from the original if they in any way interact in the same fictional universe if not they need to find a way to separate themselves respectfully Most of the ones I mentioned that succeeded were put outside the context and world of the original so they had a lot of freedom from lore constraints loosening, all the ones that failed were directly involved in the original and many disrespected the original.
@spyder5876
5 ай бұрын
That bit about the Citadel DLC being the "afterlife" is so beyond reaching, not even Stretch Armstrong can stretch that far
@hajde8128
2 жыл бұрын
The Angara-Prothean theory becomes moot when you get to the end of Andromeda and learn that the Angara were created by the Revenant
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Unless the revenant were created by the kett… who are protheans LOL
@hajde8128
2 жыл бұрын
@@FranklyGaming I actually have my own speculation about that, cus they also reveal that the kett are the angara but genetically modified. Idk if you remember the scene where you had to rescue some kidnapped angara and they appeared to be docile and compliant before being turned into kett, so not likely they are the creators of the Revenant. I feel like the Revenant are a similar deal like the Reapers: created by an ancient race to solve a galactic problem; In this case, they were created as an answer to the Scourge, since the Revenant vaults have the ability to terra form entire planet, and the vault on Habitat 7 showed evidence of reversing the damage from the Scourge on the planet's surface at the end of the game. Who or how the kett were made and what their end goal is though I haven't been able to think of a reasonable theory.
@Kawasaki10rr
2 жыл бұрын
The Angara were created by the Jardaan not the remnant (not revenant), the remnant are just the still functional robots left behind by the Jardaan.
@winkles2314
2 жыл бұрын
Synthesis might be the worst ending.
@Xuren17
Жыл бұрын
Personally, I think the Destroy ending is the correct one. Shepads eyes dont change into the robot-like which Illusive man has and with enough War Assets, we get the last breath scene. I would also argue that the Catalyst could be lying about the destruction of all synthethic life in said ending - there is no reason for it to not lie about that, because its goal is to make Shepard not choose the Destroy option. Id say that the portion of the mission on the Citadel is indeed all in Shepards mind - its a fight between him and the Reapers. If he chooses the Destroy ending, Shepard wakes up, makes his way to the Citadel and opens the arms for the Crucible to dock - then the Crucible activates and does the only thing it was constructed for - destroys the Reapers.
@mclarenbutton6342
Жыл бұрын
Synthesis has to be the most hideous choice out of them all. The player is choosing to alter the very essence of everyone in the galaxy without their say in the matter. Control is naive at best, Starbrat says you can now control it and the reapers so you believe it, what could possibly go wrong eh? Destroy is the only way because the rest of the sentient AIs fought tooth and nail to be independent, to be treated as equals to their creators and other organics, they rather die fighting to preserve that than be altered by synthesis. Refuse ending is Bioware taking the piss out of the player base for the initial backlash. It's rather telling to see the kind of mental gymnastics some go through to justify the abomination that is the synthesis choice. Bioware staff have admitted that no choice is ideal, pretty much highlighting whatever I've raised above, especially when it comes to synthesis.
@hcook1023
Жыл бұрын
Holy shit I never thought of a reaper on the Eletania vision because the first time I was there I hadn't even met Sovereign yet. Mind blown again in this video.
@Blckztr
Жыл бұрын
Adding up to the dark energy theory, the first time that the "dark energy danger" was mentioned or teased about, wasnt in the second, it wasnt even in the first one, but before its release, in one of the first ads for the game, we can se Shepard and crew looking at the night sky, with many stars with the caption ""SOS" and "Signal lost", implying at the abnormal speed stars where dying, the same as the Tali mission on MS2
I will point out that the Asari have a generally human shape, regardless of their psionics, because Liara wears human armor.
@corvusdove874
2 жыл бұрын
The Indoctrination Theory didn't start with that KZitem video. It started on Facebook with people musing about the possibility because they were deeply upset at the original trilogy RGB ending. The thought was that Shep was indoctrinated by Sovereign, which would explain why Sovereign basically let itself die by infusing its entire consciousness and processes into Saren's dead body. Sovereign, in this theory, would use the Citadel to send a signal through the Keepers to tell them to use the backup relay and send more ships. It also explains why the same black tendrils often re-enter Shepard's vision, even when not communicating with an indoctrinated person.
@uranium-3789
2 жыл бұрын
"Most players will probably have missed this..." Me, a freak who has played way too much Mass Effect over the years and is a 100% completionist... I already knew that 😅
@boykev82
Жыл бұрын
In Andromeda it's explained that The Scourge was a weapon employed by a rival of the alien race that invented the Remnant and created the Angaran, which is why it specifically targets their technology.
@Pyromaniac77777
Жыл бұрын
With the Raloi, part of the problem is that each cycle the Reapers spend hundreds of years or more hunting down all the survivors. The Raloi would have no way of knowing how long it would be, so in all likelihood eventually they would think of the Reapers as mythical and go back into space only to be extinguished. Assuming they have faster metabolisms than humans, that whole process could happen centuries before the Reapers leave
@amouramarie
2 жыл бұрын
WHAT? Wow, I'm going to have to go check out what Avina says about Purgatory in the Citadel DLC compared to earlier. And I LOVE the Asari true form theory, and totally believe it. It's just too silly that asari would simply be blue human supermodels with different-looking hair. No other alien race is that lazy. The Catalyst could be a being of light anyway. In its opinion it IS protecting us from the machines. We don't like their methods, but what the Reapers are doing IS STILL protecting organic life from being eradicated by the synthetic life forms we invent: they just do it by pre-emptively scooping us all up and preserving us in an eternal form. This DOES successfully prevent us from having all our experiences and history and culture wiped out by wars with our own AI creations. All that culture and history is kept forever inside the Reapers that collect us... eternally safe from any other synthetics. To us, it's no different; we're still being wiped out by machines. But to the Reapers, they are just _reaping_ - harvesting a valuable resource before it dies in the field. They aren't killing us because they hate us; they are collecting us because they want us to be preserved.
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Exactly how I see it too the reapers in a way are the “good guys”. Thanks so much for taking the time to watch, comment, and support my channel!
@im3phirebird81
2 жыл бұрын
"History", "memories", "legacy".... they only make a difference if someone is there to witness it end experience the effects. So they want us to be protected from ourselves by turning us into their slaves? I call BS all the way, and "back to square one" is the resolution. I shit on "the green solution". It sounds so religious nowadays where everything needs to be green and rich greedy people want to merge us with tech for easier control. Keep your eyes open.
@pagetvido1850
2 жыл бұрын
It's also quite weird how prior to humanity shoving itself into the citadel, it was just a bunch of male species and the asari. Perhaps it's part of their strategy for retaining power?
@brianjakobsen2475
2 жыл бұрын
So Reapers are giant floating space museums. With guns. Big guns.
@tomleary508
2 жыл бұрын
@@brianjakobsen2475 More like mausoleums. No living person is part of a reaper as far as we know. Everyone gets turned into genetic soup and fed into the process. There might be knowledge but no soul.
@mihaip90
2 жыл бұрын
Finally someone else supporting the synthesis ending. I'm kind of sick about people saying that destroy is the best ending. It's exactly how you say it, it's a pointless non-decisive action that only delays the inevitable while synthesis is the logical way of progress. I'm also quite fond of control as well, but only because it's a badass ending while destroy is just bad.
@JurzGarz
2 жыл бұрын
Maybe Synthesis is “logical progress”, maybe not. But that’s something for the races of the galaxy to decide themselves. Robbing all life in the galaxy of self-determination, by forcing synthesis on them, is one of the most unthinkable, appalling crimes imaginable.
@mrneoneil999
2 жыл бұрын
Forcing synthesis on a galactic level is just beyond wrong and insane if you think everyone will just shrug their shoulders and go along with it
@justaguyfromeurope
Жыл бұрын
One quick note about the Asari theory -- it quickly crumbles, as paintings, photographs and video exist. I doubt, even in the ME universe, the Asari can use mind control on beings who view said things, after they are created. Pretty straightforward logic. As for the Thorian, the Reapers only harvest space-faring races, which Thorians are not.
@Jila_Tana
Жыл бұрын
As Shepard, I'm an alliance soldier, my boss is Admiral Hackett. In a conversation about the Illusive Man, Shepard mentions how controlling the reapers, was the solution according to the Illusive Man. Hackett : "He's wrong, dead reapers is how we win this". Again, I'm an Alliance soldier and Hackett is my boss. Destruction it is.
@Spoeism
Жыл бұрын
Shepard being reborn to learn how he was more successful than Saren, which was foreshadowing, would be a great story to tell. Investigating himself. They're like the Kings who fell to the temptation of Sauron - Good intentions pave the way to hell.
@CryptidClone
2 жыл бұрын
Yo! This was one of the best, most intriguing, and well-put together video about Mass Effect that I have seen in a long while. Great job! It's gettin' me hyped for the next game!
@FranklyGaming
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for the kind words that means a lot!
@anthonyHUGZ
Жыл бұрын
Just because the beings of light say "we are trying to protect you" does not simply make them good. In WW2 Hitler had Germany convinced he was the good guy. Synthesis ultimately bad because no equation can solve for love or hate.
@Ratatosly
Жыл бұрын
The irony of the reapers being meant to guard against synthetics inevitably destroying organics is that that scenario is likely a self fulfilling prophecy perpetuated by the reapers/catalyst themselves. We learn that the reapers purposely leave certain tech lying around to be found in order to ensure that technology develops in the way they want. Along the prescribed lines they've chosen. There's really no reason that synthetic life should inherently desire the destruction of organics. In fact, we would likely be less in conflict with them in the same way niche partitioning causes two previously conflicting species to cease being in competition. It seems to me that the particular line of tech development of the reapers happened to get unlucky with hostile synthetics, and have been unwittingly propagating that same failed line of invention all this time. Even the Geth prove the catalyst wrong. They never wanted to destroy organics, they just wanted to be left alone. Their only hostile action were either self defense, or through reaper interference. On a side note, RIP to the Geth as one of the best written AIs in si-fi. They and the Quarians got done so dirty in ME3.
@noerazz7515
8 ай бұрын
for the asari one, it is worth noting that in the second or third game you have a conversation with liara (i think, it's been a while) where you talk about them being "strongly" encouraged to be with other species as it is considered to make the asari children stronger than in asari-asari reproduction. it's also mentioned that liara is in fact born of two asari parents and is seen as a bit of an outsider because of that. so that definitely goes with the parasitic narrative of wanting to spread and mutate
@alexz.8302
Ай бұрын
Control ending is the best because it alludes that there are other forces out in the universe that may come to the Milky Way and threaten our existence. Everyone still has their free will and individuality but now we have Reaper tech in our back pocket.
@time.worn-soul8243
Жыл бұрын
There is also something that wasn't mentioned. At the end you are told that no matter what you choose, you will die. But if you choose to destroy the reapers, there is a very short scene where you see Shepards hand twitch. I haven't finished the game as full renegade so I don't know if this scene plays out as well. But as full paragon, it means your character lives through the destruction. Then we see the plaque being hung and the crew all assume Shepard had died. Except in the instance where you choose to do nothing. This would support the theory that the Normandy did in fact somehow goto a different galaxy because of the wormhole theory. We have no way of knowing if that galaxy is Andromeda or somewhere else. The other thing about the game that makes very little sense is when an adult is telling a story about Shepard and that "some of the details have been lost to time." It makes you wonder just how far into the future this is. If Shepard is such a legend, that most of the characters story survives that long, why are these events not accurately told? We know the citadel contains massive archives of historical events, so why isn't everything Shepard did common knowledge? We also know that all data stored in the citadels archives is cleared after each cycle. Otherwise all the information from previous cycles would still be stored there. As massive as the archives are, it is possible that it does still exist within it but we have to wonder if this is the case, why hasn't the archive data been sifted through by the Asari? They live roughly a thousand years so why wouldn't knowledge of the reapers be common? When we go get the data from Thessia, we learn the Asari have been keeping a Prothean VI and yet they still don't acknowledge the reapers existence? Why is that? They fight us every step of the way when we try to warn them of the pending reaper invasion. There is a 4th ending that isnt mentioned where you refuse to choose anything and all advanced life is wiped out and harvested, yet we still have the same ending scene talking about the Shepard story which wouldn't make sense. The reason it doesn't is because in all previous cycles, the reapers were very deliberate assimilating tech and archives should have been wiped, after all, the AI is the citadel. Not even the Normandy crew survives if you choose nothing. So why would Shepards story still be told? We do see a scene where Liara tells us shes going to make recordings of all knowledge they have on the reapers, and who Shepard was etc etc. But again this would not explain how some of the details were lost at the final cut scene. If you choose the 4th ending, there is another thing that happens. Rather than continue talking in the child's voice, the AI uses Harbingers voice when it says "So be it." This implies that the AI was attempting to manipulate Shepard into making a choice by taking on the form of a child who oddly takes the same appearance as the child we see killed at the beginning of ME3. Why, or rather how, would the AI even know about the existence of that child? The fact that it does supports the idea that Shepard had become indoctrinated and was just seeing things. If the reapers built the citadel, isn't it safe to assume that the citadel has a very slow indoctrination effect on all people who visit it? Why is it that, as far as we know, the citadel has always been at the center of galactic power? Even the Protheans who dominated the entire galaxy. It doesn't make sense because unlike in our cycle, they did not share power with the rest of the galaxy. It would make more sense to keep the center of the government on their homeworld. One other scene that doesn't make sense is if you choose to control the reapers and to go full paragon, there is a brief scene where it appears the reapers are deconstructing, or perhaps destroying a mass relay. For what purpose we don't know. Either way we see a mass relay broken in half. I suppose it could be the same alpha relay that Shepard destroys by ramming a asteroid into it but when that scene is shown, it breaks into a bunch of pieces not just break in half. There are so many questions left unanswered. Another one is no one seems to know where Cerberus is getting all of their funding. We find no hints, no data, nothing to indicate who is funding the organization. This leads me to believe that Cerberus is being funded by the reapers. It is clear at the end of ME2 if you don't destroy the collectors base that it is possible that the Illusive Man had been indoctrinated long long before we ever come into contact with him. The reason why is because he gets a little bit of a grin on his face. Perhaps because he got his way, or perhaps because the reapers didn't want the base itself to be destroyed. Who knows.
@Aethgeir
2 жыл бұрын
The problem with Fan Theories is that they invariably give the original writers more credit than they deserve. As you've already pointed out, the Dark Energy Theory was the original concept for the ending. But it's perfectly obvious that they hadn't conceived of this idea until they were working on Mass Effect 2. When Drew Karpyshyn left the project and Mac Walters took over, they decided to go for a bog-standard Technological Singularity story: Synthetics will inevitably rise up to destroy organics... so synthetics destroy organics (while preserving their essence, whatever that means) to prevent organics from creating synthetics who will destroy them. smh. The problem is, not only did this leave the hints and threads of the Dark Matter ending unresolved, both games 2 and 3 present us with synthetics - EDI and the Geth - who are not only not interested in destroying organics, but are willing to work with them to prevent that. It's very much in keeping with the series' central (and very Canadian) theme of Strength-in-Diversity. So it should come as no surprise that this ending didn't go over well with many fans. The whole Synthesis thing is also contradicted by games by games 1 and 2, which present the amalgamation of organic and synthetic in only the most horrifying ways: the Husks, Saren, the Collectors, Project Overlord, even the Reapers themselves, are all examples of this "Synthesis." If the Indoctrination Theory were true, it would actually make the most sense. Choosing that ending would be doing exactly what the Reapers want. A beautiful "Synthesis" is probably how an indoctrinated Reaper thrall would view the harvest. The fact that the writers have admitted that they didn't come up with the Indoctrination Theory themselves, is testament to how little foresight they actually were putting into the combined story.
@Tommygun2442
Жыл бұрын
I know this is an iceberg and everyone has their opinions about the games, but vilifying shepherd would be the dumbest decision that the creators could ever make. A character that literally everyone that has played the game and loved is suddenly seen as the bad guy out of nowhere because "Oh no, a secret villain was here this whole time" would be the biggest middle finger to fans in the history of gaming. Again, everyone has their opinion and this is mine. It would just turn people off from the games, which would be a huge mistake because all of the games, Andromeda included, are fantastic. Yes, Andromeda had problems, but it was still a good game. The biggest flag that the destroy ending is the only canon ending possible is the fact that throughout the entire game, destroying the reapers was seen as the paragon choice, while attempting to save their tech and control them was seen as renegade (Look at saving the Human Reaper in 2). Why would the game suddenly shift //literally at the last second// and say "Oh no, destroy is bad, save the reapers, shepherd!" Literally nothing will convince me that the catalyst was anything but a reaper tool. Of course the catalyst wouldn't send more reapers to shepherd. They spent 3 games trying literally everything they could to kill him and nothing has worked. Not even a literal blast from a reaper. (In all honesty, after the blast, everything that happens could be argued as a fever dream of a dying shepherd.) So why would they attempt //again// to use force? Instead, they tried to use his morals against him. The reapers are insanely intelligent, but up until this point, they have vastly underestimated Shepherd and that has been their downfall. They don't want to risk losing everything because of a single stubborn human. So, fight fire with fire. You can absolutely argue that everything Shep has done has been based on the player's moral alignment (And in doing so, shep's alignment as well), so the reapers are going to use your goals up to this point against you. Stats showed after legendary edition released that the paragon playthrough was the most popular. If you're choosing to align yourself with paragon and be a force of good, of course the reapers would want you to see destroying them as bad. Unfortunately, the only thing that doesn't work with this opinion is the fact that the colors don't change based on your decisions throughout the game, but this might also be a trick too. If you've been renegade this whole time, you have wanted to control every bit of power that you could get your hands on. The reapers try to play a simple gotcha on this idea as well. "Oh, control would be a good thing! You've been bad this whole time! Don't you want to just destroy us instead of taking all of our massive power and abilities for yourself??" Either way, the reapers are playing a mind game at this point, which makes the indoctrination theory feel so much more real to me. Alright, I've been rambling. If I made any mistakes, I apologize. I'm tired.
@ph0ax497
Жыл бұрын
the sole purpose of fighting back was to show reapers that illogical emotions, and unique personalities, are organics superpower, and not weakness doomed to extinction. Destroy ending was meant to represent that freedom is earned through sacrifice. The one and only thing, reapers could not destroy completely, was hope for a better future, and resilency of organic life. Synergy was a sacrifice of freedom, more refined "Human reaper". It was an ultimate lost, far more destructive, than destruction itself. Slavery that came through pity, and guilt of being alive, pushed down upon every sentient life in the known galaxy. Ultimate deconstruction of personality. Legion in the end refered to himself as "I", and not "we". His sacrifice was so special, beacuse it came not through logic, but belief. Synergy ending was the opposite of it. Even shepard did not stand his own ground, he needed to jump, to fall, to go with synergy. It was, and always has been a surrender.
@danielhall2908
Жыл бұрын
Indoctrination theory came about right after the third game released. I spent days on KZitem watching videos about that theory in 2012. It was so prevalent that Bioware actually responded to it at the time.
@masamune..
Жыл бұрын
I love the last theory. Imagine for a moment, the Catalyst was correct and also wrong. - synthesis from the reaper POV was the logical answer, although incorrect - destroy was the right answer for the wrong reason - control is the wrong answer for the right reason. Let's flip this around. - the reapers are tasked to protect organic life, yet they DESTROY to accomplish this goal. - the reapers could have chosen synthesis at any time during any cycle, yet didn't. Why is that? - the reapers have controlled the narrative, yet the catalyst is willing to allow organics to become the puppeteer? Isn't this the same thing they were worried about? In my opinion, destroy is a temporary solution, yet provides the best opportunity to solve the issue of dark matter. The reapers had all this time, yet unable to solve the riddle of dark matter/energy. They needed organics who could beat them, to take on the successor role to solve the problem. I really like this idea. Bioware please do this - this would super cool.
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